"Blood On The Ground" – Part 9
Summary and additional notes in part 1.
Author's note: Thanks for the reviews! Emotions are running high in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Do NOT own Degrassi!
9-
When lunch rolled around Adam wasn't hungry. He opted to go outside instead. He took a seat on one of the picnic tables and pulled out a comic.
"It's a little chilly for reading?"
He looked up and smiled at Alli. "Well I'm a trendsetter."
"Oh? So that's what we're calling it these days?" she teased as she took a seat next to him. "Not avoidance?"
He shrugged.
"For the record, I don't think bruising gives you a pass on boyfriend duties," she told him.
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Today is the second day in a row that you didn't meet Fiona outside before school. And now you're not meeting her outside the cafeteria for lunch. So I've got one question – what the French?" Alli prodded.
Adam sighed. "I texted her that I'm skipping lunch."
"Oh yeah? When?" Alli pressed.
"Um, a few minutes ago."
"And lunch started ten minutes ago. Very smooth," she quipped.
Adam shook his head. "It's not like that…" he trailed off. He looked around and observed that for a chilly day there were quite a bit of people outside in the quad area. He noticed some skaters, a few football players, and number of small groups conversing amongst themselves.
"Okay, why are you out here?" K.C. laughed as he came up to them. He took a seat on the same table.
"Just wanted some air. You?" Adam questioned.
He shrugged. "Wasn't sure if you knew, but Owen is back today."
"I heard!" Alli said excitedly.
Adam rolled his eyes. "Me too."
"Tell me, who messed up his face?" K.C. asked.
"You saw him?" Alli inquired.
"Yeah, the dude looks like breathing and talking are painful activities," K.C. noted.
"No kidding," Dave added out of nowhere. There wasn't any more space at the table because somehow in the span of five minutes it had gone from Adam and Alli, to a group of nearly fifteen people. Adam was annoyed.
"What do you guys want me to say?" Adam said exasperated.
"We just want to hear what happened from you," Dave answered, not picking up that it was a rhetorical question.
Eli frowned as he approached the table. "Why are you guys out here? It's freezing."
"Adam wanted some air. The rest of them wanted gossip," Alli told him.
"And you're excluding yourself?" Eli teased.
"Bite me Goldsworthy!" Alli said annoyed.
Eli laughed. "I would, but you might like it."
She cringed in disgust.
Dave turned to Eli. "Dude, you were there. What happened to Owen's face?"
Eli sucked in a breath and looked at Adam. "We're not discussing this." He didn't want to relive the horror of Saturday afternoon.
People audibly sighed.
"Tough cookies, but it's nonnegotiable," Eli told them.
"Owen," Dave said startled.
"I told you, we're not discussing this!" Eli said annoyed.
"No, behind you," Dave told him.
Eli turned around to see Owen slowly approaching the group. It was the first time he saw him today and he had to agree he looked worse for the wear. He glanced over at Adam and saw the two made a sorry pair. The bad feelings between the two were made explicit by the bruises on their faces. He searched Adam's face for any hint of anger, but his friend wore a neutral expression as Owen stopped in front of them.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Eli said in low, dangerous tone.
"I just want to talk," Owen told him.
"Well, you could have fooled me on Saturday," Eli retorted, with venom in his voice.
Owen bit back a response. Today had been pretty shitty. He didn't like Adam and his friends. He knew they hated him, but he wasn't prepared to deal with having the whole school hate him. People he barely noticed before made their dislike for him known. It was weird being on the other side – when remarks were said to you instead of saying them.
"Alright, it was shitty," Owen conceded.
Eli raised an eyebrow. "I think somewhere pigs are flying," he commented.
"Look, this is between me and Torres," Owen stated, getting annoyed with the boy's quips.
Eli started to protest when Adam stopped him.
"What is there to talk to about?" Adam asked. He stood up from the table. Eli stood beside him, ready to pull him back at any given moment.
"I'm done with this feud if you are," Owen told him.
Adam looked at him curiously, not sure of what to make of his sudden change of heart.
"What's going on here?" Fiona interrupted concerned. Clare and Fitz were trailing behind. She had waited for Adam for several minutes before receiving his text. She decided to go inside and get lunch. When she got to their table it was suspiciously vacant. Moments later Clare showed up with Fitz and he informed them that it was probably a good idea to check on Adam. She didn't know what to make of the large group surrounding him and Owen.
Adam looked at her. "We're not fighting, if that's what you mean."
His remark barely registered with her. All of her attention was on Owen as her anger surged. She was livid at what he had done to her boyfriend. He looked back at her and she snapped. "What the hell is your problem? Get the fuck away from him!"
Owen looked at her confused.
Adam stepped towards her. "Fiona, calm down," he said gently as he reached for her hand.
She shook him off. "No, I won't! It's not right, Adam." She thought about how she felt when she saw him on Sunday and grew more upset. The bruising on his face. The soreness of his body. The way he tried to minimize his ordeal by casually mentioning that he had gone through worse beatings in the past. It pained her beyond words to see him hurting. She would never be okay with what happened.
She turned back to Owen. "I don't give a shit about your fragile ego, your daddy issues, or whatever else is eating you – it doesn't give you the right to put your hands on other people. Fuck off, Owen! Everyone hates you anyway so it's no one's loss!" Fiona ranted.
Eli was watching the situation with caution, but he couldn't hold back a smirk as Fiona laid into Owen. Apparently neither could anyone else because after a short, stunned silence more than a few people begin to laugh. Some people even started to clap.
Owen looked at Fitz. His former friend stared back with a look that could kill. He knew then that he was on his own. "Shut up," he said meekly trying to silence the crowd.
Fiona smirked as more people laughed in response. Adam shot her a look of concern, not liking the direction things were going.
"I said, shut up!" Owen said more forcefully.
"Hmm, you can dish it but you can't take it," Eli commented.
Fiona grinned at him. "No surprise there," she quipped. "All that muscle…"
Her remark led to even more laughter.
"Torres, you better watch your lezzie girlfriend!" Owen barked.
Everyone paused. The silence was deafening as the next few moments seem to unfold in slow motion.
Adam's eyes flashed with anger. Eli felt a cold chill down his back as he recognized the look from Saturday, when Adam had lost control. In seconds Adam closed most of the distance between him and Owen. Eli moved forward and grabbed him around the waist, trying desperately to keep his friend from reaching the bully.
Recognizing that they had a major problem, K.C. jumped up to assist. He threw himself between Adam and Owen. He placed his hands on the smaller boy's shoulders and used all his strength to push him back. However, it wasn't working! Adam was still advancing towards Owen! K.C. couldn't believe it, because normally he could overpower the boy with ease but in this moment Adam was set on beating the shit out of Owen and nothing would stand in his way.
Fitz's eyes widened in shock at the scene in front of him. Two guys were holding Owen back and seemed to have him under control. Two guys were attempting to hold Adam back but he was still advancing towards the bully.
"A little help!" he heard Eli yell frantically.
He ran towards Eli and K.C., and added his weight to the mix. Finally they managed to hold Adam at bay.
Eli was breathing heavily. "Adam, calm down!" he shouted.
"He's not worth it!" K.C. added. Adam didn't need to be suspended or expelled because that asshole.
Adam relaxed his body. "It's cool. I'm alright guys," he told them in an emotionless voice. His eyes were still boiling anger. Eli took one look and he knew if they let Adam go he would run towards Owen again.
"Calm the fuck down, dude!" Eli reiterated. His arms were dead tired. He wasn't sure how much help he would be if Adam continued to struggle against them.
Bianca watched the scene unfold from the top of the steps, at the school entrance. She couldn't make out what was said, but even from here she could see that something rather ugly had taken place. The tension, anger, and hatred permeated the air and left her feeling even colder than she already did. This was what she had been trying to prevent, but she knew it wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.
Suddenly she spotted Principal Simpson rushing pass her with a few security guards. Things had gotten even worse.
.
tbc
A/N: There will be consequences, as there are for every action…
Reviews = Awesome :D